Apple has turned the week before its “Pro and Tell” event into a steady stream of new hardware, software updates, and AI features. The company revealed an OLED iPad mini on Monday, followed Tuesday with an M6-powered iMac and a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and updated its operating systems along the way.
The company will hold the “Pro and Tell” briefing on October 28 in Los Angeles. It is aimed at press and creators rather than a traditional event, and Apple has not said which products it will discuss. A touchscreen MacBook remains expected, while the new devices already announced give Apple’s Mac and iPad lineup plenty to talk about.
The OLED iPad Mini Gets Smaller, Brighter, and Faster
The eighth-generation iPad mini brings an OLED display to the tablet line, with an 8.5-inch screen compared with the previous model’s 8.3-inch display. Apple fit the larger panel into the same overall tablet size, and the new model is slightly narrower at 5.22 inches instead of 5.3 inches.
The display reaches 1,200 nits of peak brightness, double the previous model’s level, and offers a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Base storage remains 128GB, while the 256GB and 512GB versions can be ordered with a nano-texture glass display.
The tablet is lighter, too. The Wi-Fi model weighs 0.56 pounds, down from 0.65 pounds, while the 5G version weighs 0.58 pounds instead of 0.66 pounds. The 5G model also includes Apple’s C2 modem, which delivers up to 50 percent faster data speeds than the previous iPad mini.
The A20 Pro powers the new iPad mini, matching the chipset in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo. Apple says the system-on-chip can run large language models locally, supports Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, and includes a 7-core GPU. That is two more GPU cores than the A17 Pro used in the previous iPad mini.
Connectivity gets a boost from the N1 chip, which adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The front camera is a 12MP Center Stage lens, now placed along the landscape edge. There is still no Face ID, while the rear 12MP camera supports 4K 60fps video and Smart HDR 4.
Apple also sealed the enclosure and gave the tablet an IP67 rating. That means it can withstand dust and immersion in 1 meter of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Battery life reaches up to 10 hours for video or web use over Wi-Fi, or nine hours over a cellular connection. With a 35W power adaptor, the battery can reach 50 percent in 30 minutes.
Audio is another focus. Apple says its first Acoustic Display delivers more volume and “punchier bass” because the woofers “are paired through the display.” The company also says “custom tweeters are now hidden between the glass and aluminum enclosure for clearer highs.”
The OLED iPad mini starts at $699, which is $150 more than the previous model after its price increased in June. Pre-orders open on October 28, and the tablet reaches shelves on November 6.
M6 Comes to the 14-Inch MacBook Pro and iMac
Apple’s Tuesday announcements brought the M6 chip to both the entry-level iMac and the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The larger 16-inch MacBook Pro still uses either the M5 Pro or M5 Max, leaving buyers of that model without newer M6 silicon.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro offers 30 percent faster graphics than an M5-equipped model and a 25 percent boost to AI workloads. Its M6 chip includes a 12-core CPU, a 12-core GPU with Neural Accelerators in each core, a dual 16-core Neural Engine, and faster unified memory. Apple says the Neural Engine is 1.9x faster than before.
Apple also claims up to 1.3x faster time to first token performance and 1.3x faster rendering in Blender compared with an M5 model. The laptop starts with 16GB of unified memory, with upgrades to 24GB for $200 or 32GB for $400. Storage begins at 1TB and can reach 2TB for $500 or 4TB for $1,500.
The laptop includes a Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness, a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, and battery life of up to 24 hours. A nano-texture screen finish costs $150 and reduces glare and reflections. The Space Black model also has an anodized coating designed to hide fingerprints.
Ports include HDMI, MagSafe 3, three Thunderbolt 4 slots, an SDXC card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 are included as well. The 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 in space black or silver, with pre-orders beginning October 28 and sales starting November 6.
The M6 iMac brings the chip to Apple’s entry-level desktop machines after its arrival in the Mac mini and Mac Studio. Apple says faster 170GB/s memory bandwidth makes graphics performance twice as fast as the previous iMac M4, while tasks such as Microsoft Excel run up to 50 percent faster than on the iMac M4 and 2.5x faster than on the M1 model.
The desktop also delivers up to double the gaming performance for ray tracing. On-device AI performance reaches five times the speed of the M4 model for prompt processing in LM Studio, or 12 times the speed of the M1 model.
The iMac runs macOS 27 with Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, which Apple calls “profoundly more capable” than the old Siri. Siri AI is also built into Spotlight, where users can find answers and ask follow-up questions. The 4.5K, 24-inch Retina display remains unchanged, with 500 nits of brightness and P3 wide color.
New features include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and 2.5Gb Ethernet, which Apple says provides 250 percent more speed than before. The iMac supports up to two 6K external displays, though it uses Thunderbolt 4 instead of the two-times-faster Thunderbolt 5. It also includes a 12MP Center Stage camera, Touch ID, color-matched accessories, and seven color choices.
The M6 iMac starts at $1,499 with a 10-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. A $1,699 configuration includes a 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, and 16GB of RAM. Both models open for pre-order on October 28.
Software Updates and the Next MacBook Question
Apple also released the latest versions of its operating systems, adding more Siri AI features and support for more languages. Apple Creator Studio gained more AI features and creative tools, extending the week’s focus beyond hardware.
The October 28 briefing may bring one more major reveal: a touchscreen MacBook with an OLED display. The expected design could include thinner bezels and a hole-punch camera cutout with a Dynamic Island instead of a notch. Rumors also point to 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, a thinner and lighter design, and M5 Pro or M5 Max chips instead of the M6 family.
That touchscreen model is expected to cost more than current versions, which would remain available for buyers who do not want to pay the higher price. A high-end refresh with M7 Pro and M7 Max chips is rumored for 2027. For now, Apple’s confirmed M6 Macs, OLED iPad mini, and new software updates have already made this a busy week.
Based on
- Everything Apple announced this week so far: New iPad and MacBooks — engadget.com
- What To Expect At Apple’s ‘Pro And Tell’ Event On October 28 — engadget.com
- Apple Has Updated The 14-Inch MacBook Pro With An M6 Chip — engadget.com
- Apple’s iMac With M6 Arrives Promising A ‘Huge Leap’ In AI Performance — engadget.com
